Cylinder door fastening means



June 8, 1937. F. vEToRlNo 'CYLINDER DOOR FASTENING MEANS 4Filed Oct. 50, 1935 Ooeooo oooo-ooooo ooooooo oooooooo Awoont:

aoooo o oooooooo 24 ooeoooo ooo Patented June 8, 1937 narran stares PATET QFFICE CYLINDER DOOR FASTENING MEANS Application October 30, 1935, Serial No. 47,433

1 Claim.

This invention relates to mechanism for fastening the doors of cylinders such as are commonly used in Washing and dry cleaning machines and the like.

Such machines utilize cylinders having side openings through which they are filled and emptied and ciroumierentially slidable .doors are provided for closing these openings. My invention provides a novel structure for holding such doors closed.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of means for tightly clamping a slidable cylinder door in its closed position by substantially irreversible mechanism, that is to say, once the mechanism is moved to door securing position it is very difcult and almost impossible to shake the securing parts to door releasing position in the usual operation of the machine.

Other features of the invention include novel design and arrangement of the various parts all as will more clearly appear from the accompanying drawing together with the specication and the essential features Will be summarized in the claim.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a fragmental side elevation of a cylinder equipped with my door securing means; Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional Views taken along similarly numbered lines of Fig. 1; While Fig. 6 is a fragmental view of a portion of the cylinder of Fig. 1, showing the upper edge of the door when the door is partly opened.

I have shown my invention as applied to a rotatable cylinder I@ of well known type having a side opening I I which is closed by a door I2 which is slidable circumferentially about the cylinder. Guides I3 along the curved side edges of the door guide the same during its sliding movement and a cross bar I4 and overlying plate I5 form a channel I6 into which the bottom edge of the door enters when the door is closed. The upper edge of the door is provided with a plurality of intertting strips I'I which serve to position and hold the door when it is closed, this construction being more fully described and claimed in the copending application of Charles E. Waream, Ser. No. 46,293,

edges thereof and including a bolt and keeper mechanism adjacent each door edge with bolt actuating mechanism lying'intermediate the bolts and having an irreversible connection With the same so that the bolts may be manually actuated to door securing position and will so remain until they are again manually actuated in the opposite direction. In the form illustrated the means for engaging the door comprises a pair of clamping bands 22 and 22a. one adjacent each of the side edges of the door. These bands have their upper ends secured to the cylinder in any suitable manner. For instance they may be secured in the manner shown in Patent No. 1,657,181 granted to J. B. Sando, January 24, 1928. An intermediate portion of the band overlies the adjacent edge of the door and to the free end of the band is secured a keeper member 23. A bolt member 2li is adapted to coact with the keeper member, the bolt being slidably supported on the cylinder by guides 25. The bolt and keeper have coacting Wedge faces adapted upon movement of the bolt longitudinally of the cylinder to control the position of the clamping band. Movement of bolt 24 toward the end of the cylinder Will exert a pull on the keeper member 23 clamping the intermediate portion of the band 22 `tightly against the sliding door while movement of the bolt in the opposite direction will loosen the band. The actuating means for the bolt includes a planate spiral gear member 26 rotatably mounted at 2l on the cylinder. This spiral member as shown comprises a disk on the outer face of which is formed a spiral channel 26a. which in the specific form shown is an Archimedean spiral having a gradual slope for a purpose later described. A gear member 28 is adapted to coact With the spiral gear member 2B so as to be driven by the spiral member but the arrangement is such that movement of the member 28 will not cause rotation of the member 26 because of the gradual slope of the spiral above referred to. The interaction of the members 26 and 28 may be provided in various manners, it being necessary only that there be a tooth on one member and a channel or groove on the other member arranged in a position to coact. With the Archimedean spiral shown the member 28 may be a rack member with teeth evenly spaced therealong as best seen in Fig. 2. The member 28 is pivotally secured to a rod 29 which in turn connects with the bolt 24. The parts for the righthand end of the cylinder are the same as those just described in connection With the left-hand end and have been given similar reference numbers With the addition of the suix a. A key socket 30 is provided at the hub of the spiral member 26 and a detachable key 3l may be placed in the socket and the spiral member rotated by hand to actuate the bolts in the direction desired. 5 Angle members 32 and 32a prevent endwise movement of the clamping bands during actuation of the bolts7 d Y The operation of the device will be readily apparent from the above description. With the l door I2 open, Athe material to be processed is placed inside the cylinder and the door is then .manually closed which permits engagement of the safety latch bolts I9 in the recesses 20. To hold the door tightly in position key 3l is then 15 placed in socket 3E! and the spiral gear member 26 is rotated in a clockwise direction which forces the gear members 28 and the connected bolts 24 outwardly thus exerting a ypull downwardly as seen in Fig. 1 on the keepers 23 andthe bands 20 2 2. Ijhe b ands are thus pulled tightly down on the door I2 clamping it against the guides l'3. Upon completion of a washing or other operation in the cylinder! the key is again inserted in socket 30, the spiral gear member is rotated in 25 acounterclockwise direction thus simultaneously withdrawing bolts 2li Yfrom engagement with their ooact'ingkeepers and relieving the pressure on the clamping bands, whereupon the latch bolts i9 may be withdrawn and the cylinder door opened.

What I claim is:

In a machine of the class described having a. cylinder with a side opening therein and a circumferentially slidable door therefor and two circumferentially extending clamping bands each adjacent a side edge of said door and e'ach having one end secured to said cylinder and an intermediate portion overlying said door; means -f'or simultaneously tightening said intermediate band portions against said door including bolt and keeper members for each band, each keeper member being connected with the free end of a band, means supporting each bolt member on said cylinder for sliding movement longitudinally thereof, said members having coacting wedge faces adapted to control the associated band upon 'movement of the bolt member, a disc rotatably mounted on said cylinder Aintermediate said bolts, a spiral gear member on a face o f said disc, said spiral member having a gradual slope, two gear members arranged tobe driven by said spiral member and one on each side of the rotating center thereof, and each ojf said last named gear members 'being connected with one of said bolt members.

yFRANK VETORINO. 

